Sonic the Hedgehog: Tiberium
by Mr. Man098
Summary: When Tiberium comes to Earth, a whole new hero arises, and new villians lurk in the shadows. Rated T for more violence later on. Title and summery subject to change without notice.
1. Prologue: Background on the conflict

1992 was, for the most part, a year of shocks. First, the expiration of the second U.S.-NATO treaty meant that there would be no coordination between the Western nations in the case of a Soviet attack. Not that the Soviets would dare attack at that point in time. The aged Premier Romanov, barely clinging to whatever shreds of government still existed in Mother Russia, had neither the time nor the resources to attack. He was still recovering from the deafet of Yuri. Second was the announcement that China had access to nuclear weapons. This shook up the balance of power in the Pacific. It meant that China would now be a world power. Later in the year, the Allies—with the exception of the United States and Korea—announced that they would form one nation-state on the European continent, because they felt that America had controlled them long enough. Ironically, the attitude in this new empire was one that wanted to recolonize. Several politicians, with their campaigns taking very nationalist and fascist overtones won the elections in this new nation.

If 1992 was the year of shocks, then 1993 was the year of explosions. China marched through Korea to show off its new military might. After the break-up of the U.N., disenfranchised nations, notably Brazil, South Africa, India, Mexico, and, surprisingly, Australia, formed a force comprised of the militaries of these nations. Because the alliance was so far reaching, their combined militaries were called the Global Defense Initiative, or GDI. Several Middle Eastern nations, like Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, excluded from this agreement, decided to form their own united military force. They called them the Global Liberation Army, and had more destructive goals than the GDI. They cut off oil supplies, and China, the USA, and the Allies of Europe had to turn to alternative fuel sources, while the Soviet Union and the nations of the GDI were denied oil and were left to rot. A combined assault by these forces changed the GLA's mind. This short boarder war cemented a GDI-Soviet alliance, and forever made them enemies to the GLA.

In 1994, world peace was kept in a precarious balance. Across the Pacific, the United States and China allied with each other in an attempt to hold both of their economies together. The Soviet-GDI alliance held strong, and allowed Socialist ideals to flourish. Corruption in the GDI nations nearly vanished. The European Alliance, or the Allies, were very isolationist, and hoped to remain so until they could acquire enough resources to colonize the Third World. The GLA was deeply isolationist as well, even though they still traded somewhat. These alliances and friendships allowed peace under the threat of war doctrine to continue. Everyone thought that there was nothing that could disturb this peace, this new cold war.

Everyone was wrong.

In 1995, the peace was shattered. A meteorite hit the Earth next to the Tiber River in Italy. When Allied astronomers looked into the remains of the crash site, they found a mysterious, poisonous substance. They called it Tiberium, after the river where it landed. Suddenly, a quasi-religious terrorist organization, the Brotherhood of Nod, revelaed itself to the world, and showed that it had Tiberium harvesting methods well beyond any of that of established scientific communities. They used this Tiberium to build and acquire weapons and technology that no other nation had. More metorites crashed in different places around the world.

Tiberium is a highly toxic substance that causes the nuitreints of the Earth to absorbed into into its roots, were it is crystalized and then releases a toxic gas, fatal to humans, plants and animals, and highly corrosive to anything else. To humans, it causes harmful mutations on contact, or in a twenty meter radius. In twenty seconds, the green matter will fuse with your skin, and slowly begin to crystalize. At farther distances, only the swallowing of "spores" released by the crystals is harmful. To animals, it would do the same. However, at longer distances, Tiberium's radioactivity reformulated the animal's DNA, much faster than humans, and speed up the evolution process. These created mutant species of animals, who were bipedal, intelligent, and had colors not normally found in nature. The first of the human fatalities would come from the scientists who tried to examine the substance with no protective gear. The first of these mutant animals was a European hedgehog that lived near the crash site.

The Brotherhood of Nod displayed the power of Tiberium weaponry in a terror bombing of the Grand Trade Center in Vienna. Although intitially blamed on the GLA, it was later discovered that the Brotherhood of Nod, and their mysterious leader, Kane, were responsible. Kane's goals were unknown at the time, but it caused a world war to break out. It was a five sided war, and all over one thing: Tiberium. Meanwhile, a brillant, overwieght, formally Soviet scientist, Doctor Ivo Robotnik, was in New Guinea, when he discovered that Tiberium mutated animals could make great power sources for his automatons. He took several speciemens from around the world to use in his experiments.

In 1996, the world was at war. The USA and China fought to keep the status quo, the Soviets and the GDI fought to use Tiberium to unite the world, the Allies of Europe fought to restore Europe as the sole power and recolonize the Third World, the GLA fought to release a GLA dominated hegemony, and the Brotherhood of Nod fought for their own, mysterious, transhumanist agenda. Meanwhile, in Dr. Robotnik's laboratories, something that would change the world was about to be created...


	2. Prologue: Awakening of a hero

The little brown European hedgehog scurried around the bush, looking for some insects to eat. It was munching on a cricket when behind it came a loud roar. The little hedgehog scurried back into its burrow and rolled into a little ball afraid. Above him, he heard footsteps, big and pounding, probably those of a human. The little hedgehog uncurled itself, and waddled to the entrance of the burrow to see what was going on.

In the distance, several humans draped in white cloth ran towards a giant crater next to the river where the hedgehog usually drank from. In the middle of the crater, a glowing, steaming crystal sat, and the humans came closer to observe it. Several other humans stood near the hedgehog's burrow, holding things the hedgehog had never seen before. They were shouting and barking excitedly into them. The hedgehog wondered if they might have been excited over the green crystals. It became hungry again, and went off to find some more food.

Not a long time later, the hedgehog was interrupted from its feast again. The humans screamed terribly, and the hedgehog looked over towards the source of the noise. The humans that had stood around the crystal now ran from it, screaming in agony. Their body, and now the entire crater, had been covered in green crystal. The hedgehog, now afraid of the human's panic, scurried back into the burrow, and fell asleep in a little ball.

The hedgehog then had a terrible nightmare. It dreamed that grew longer, and turned blue, and its quills came out of its head. When the hedgehog awoke, he found that his nightmare had become real. He was much bigger now, almost a giant, and he was blue. He had destroyed his burrow, and was now lying in a plot of dirt. New experiences were coming to him. It was as if his whole life, he had been blind, and now he could finally see. Everything was in vivid color, and for the first time, he could stand on his hind legs. He stood, wobbling, and began to walk. New rushes of intelligence came into his mind, and he suddenly could learn. He began to feel hungry again, though. He walked over to the table where the humans had been previously.

There, on the table, sat a disgusting looking thing, a long, meaty rod, covered in a glop of some sort. It sat inside some soft brown things. The hedgehog experimentally picked it up, sniffed it, and looked at it again. He decided if it was good enough for a human, it was good enough for him. He took a bite from it.

It was the best thing he had ever tasted.

He immediately scarfed the rest of it down. Before he could get away, though, he heard a voice come out of the brush.

"Did that thing just eat a…chilidog?" the voice sounded confused, and the hedgehog was confused as well. How could it understand the human? The hedgehog's natural instincts took over, telling it to flee. He turned to go on all fours, but stopped himself. Standing on his hind legs felt much more comfortable now. He decided to try and run on his hind legs.

The first time he tried, he tripped over himself. The humans were getting closer. This time when he ran, he actually managed to stay on his feet. He increased his speed, and surprised himself at how fast he could run. Not watching where he was going, he smacked into a tree branch. Rubbing his head, he stood up. These new things were weird. _Well, now that the world has opened up to me, might as well have fun!_ the hedgehog thought.


	3. Prologue: Time well spent

Mikhail sighed as he looked up from his paperwork. "What is it now, comrade secretary?" he asked wearily. The day hadn't been so great; more border aggression by the Allies of Europe in the Ukraine had made his job extremely difficult. The Soviet war machine was now using him to by it time to prepare for the inevitable war that was coming.

"Odd news, comrade. It seems there has been a meteor strike near the Tiber River in Italy," his secretary said.

"So how would this affect me?" Mikhail sighed again.

"Something… extraterrestrial is in there. It killed the first batch of astronomers that went to look at it. The second wave of them went in, and while wearing hazardous material suits, they nearly died," his secretary told him.

"I still don't see how this would affect me," Mikhail began growing impatient. Suddenly, the door opened. A bald, bearded man, dressed in black fatigues, stood there.

"I believe I can answer that question, ambassador," the man said. He spoke Russian with an American accent.

"And who would you be?" Mikhail asked, reaching for the pistol he kept under the desk.

"No need for that, ambassador, I am not hear to harm you. I am merely here to deliver a message to your government."

"And that message would be?"

"I want them to turn over the Tiberium reserves in Siberia to the Brotherhood of Nod."

"Tiberium? Brotherhood of Nod? Is this some kind of joke?"

"No, ambassador, this is no joke. We, the Brotherhood of Nod, have the technology to harvest Tiberium. We have already begun work in Italy and northern Mexico, and now, we want to start in Siberia."

"I still don't understand what you mean by Tiberium. And what do you mean, started work in Italy and northern Mexico? I have not heard anything about this."

"We have not yet made this announcement to the public or approved it with Allied government. Even so, the Allies will know our power. When the meteor crashed into the river, our extraction teams were the first ones there to start the mining the crystals that formed from it. Surely you have heard of the meteor crash in the Tiber River?"

Mikhail nodded. "What do you plan on doing with this Tiberium?"

"Well, if I told you that, I don't think the Politburo would let me start."

"I guess I cannot let you through to Premier Romanov then."

"Then your fate will be the same as the Allies."

"Are you threatening me?"

"No, I am just showing you the power of the Brotherhood of Nod." Just then, a guard ran into the room.

"Comrade Ambassador! Did you hear?" he shouted, with concern and worry in his voice.

Mikhail rolled his eyes. "Of course I heard. I heard it right through the soundproof walls during my conversation."

The sarcasm went over the man's head. "But that how could you-"

Mikhail abruptly cut him off. "Just get to the point! What happened?"

"The Grand Trade Center in Vienna was blown up just minutes ago! They say the GLA did it, and now the Chairmen of the Allies says that they will declare war on them!" The guard finally took a breath.

Mikhail shot up out of his chair. "My God! Get me on the phone to Moscow! And monitor the situation with the Allies and GLA!" he shouted after the guard, already running down the hall.

Mikhail turned back toward the man in the black fatigues. "That was you, wasn't it?"

The man just smiled. "Whatever do you mean, Comrade Ambassador?"

"Why are you here?" Mikhail scowled.

"I have been here long enough. I now must return to my followers," the man turned and began striding out.

"Wait! What is your name?"

"You may call me… Kane." And with that, he strode out the door of Mikhail's office. His secretary handed him the phone.

"It's Moscow, comrade, and the Premier isn't very happy. I think you interrupted his meal time," the secretary said. Mikhail took the phone.

"Premier Romanov?" Mikhail asked, just to make sure.

"_Da_, this is him," the old, gruff voice replied. "What is it that you want?"

"Comrade Premier, I believe we at the Embassy should start packing; I think the war has come," he said, afraid to admit it.


	4. Prologue: Xiavier's Story Part 1

_Today's chapter_ _is brought to you by: Darkness Wasted. For more on her fancharacter, please visit her page. Coming soon: the next chapter of Changing Home! Be sure to aim your web browsers her way! This entire story is also made possible by Veiwers Like You. Thank You._

Ijust awakened from a long slumber and realized that I can speak. I've never spoken before. Never. I also have a difficulty walking. Very odd considering the fact that I walk on all fours. But now I have hands that of a human's. Very odd, very odd indeed. Walking is proven to be a pain. Standing up right is not normal. Humans make it seem very easy. But to a hedgehog, not so much.

I look around and see nothing but blurs. Absolutely nothing but blurs.

Finally things come into focus. Hmm?

Where am I? I don't remember this place.

Hmm? Smells funny. What the heck happened while I was out of it? Hmm. I see

plenty of lights and way too many humans. Way too many humans. What are they looking at? I'm your normal everyday hedgehog for goodness sakes. Well, this human looking at me right now is female and she appears to be looking at me then again studying me like all of the others around her. I see behind them others like me but instead they look normal. Unlike me who has thoughts and words to speak. I look at my hands and find white material on them.

"He seems to be interested in the gloves," A human female said writing something down. Gloves? Was that what these were? Hmm? What about these things on my legs?

"Also, he seems very found of those boots. Make a note of that," A male human said. Boots? Black boots? Wait, I can see other colors! Now I know something is wrong here. I normally see two colors but now I see many. So many unknown colors.

"He seems to stare off into space. I knew a mutant as himself would be this naive." Another human said. Naïve! Who the heck do you think you are?

"Hey, buddy, who do you think you're talking too?" I yelled out. They froze. Wait. They understood me. They actually understood me. By their faces, I deduced that they were very much interested in what I have to say.

"Please speak again, and next time slower for the recorder to pick it up."

I refuse to talk to humans. From what I've learned living alone they're ruthless and uncaring creatures of this planet. I stayed silent which seemed to have annoyed them. I smirk and look away as they opened up the metal prison from which I was held in. they give me something and keep the cage opened. I saw my chance and smiled. I jumped out and wobbled a bit. The cage was large enough for me to walk around as I said before but yet to small. I tried to walk on two feet but yet again, I fall forward. All I received were stares and very strange looks of anger and disappointment.

"What?" I ask looking at them strangely.

"So, do continue." A female said. I looked at her oddly. They want entertainment! Well they sure aren't getting any from me. I stood and finally was able to get the nag of walking. I look for an exit and yet I can't reach it. It was a door. I can tell by the knob and window. So I went over to it and finally got the feeling of walking and using my hands. _Paws,_ I thought, but that wasn't so anymore. I placed my 'gloved' hand on the knob and twisted it.

"He's escaping!" You bet I was! Far from this dump! I run out of the area and try to find a way out. Nothing was right. I now had super speed. My fur wasn't brown any more. It was dark blue. The strands of quills have a blood color on top of my head. Something was very wrong. In addition, I had to find out what. Moreover, why was I changed into this creature.


	5. One week later: What a day

"Load up that gun rack on the truck! Get the flag aboard the helicopter, and don't let it touch the ground! Those European dogs won't wait forever!" Mikhail shouted to the assembled workers on the lawn of the Soviet Embassy. They had spent the week assembling clearances, getting emergency plans in place, shutting down computers, destroying documents that related to the Soviet military, and had rigged the entire place to blow up, if that need be the case. While the workers outside were unrigging lights and such, he was in his office, calling the Premier for the third time this week.

"I don't care what you think. This was my personal infantry division, and I intend to use it to defend the area," Mikhail had grown tired of arguing with the Premier.  
"Comrade Ambassador, we no longer have infantry to spare. If we must fight the Europeans toe to toe, we must have all available units ready at the front. Not for you to make your own little… what is that the Americans called it? The battle in Texas?"

Mikhail sighed. "The Alamo, Comrade Premier?"

"Yes! Yes! The Alamo. They are not for you to make your own little Alamo."

"But if you just give me one rifle division, I can make the European's lives a little more hellish."

"What I need now is a solid defense, not a failure of a diversion. Send back the rifle division."

"Comrade Premier, I intend to defend this embassy, and there is nothing you can do about it." And with that, Mikhail pulled the cord on the conversation. He smashed the phone receiver into little bits, and then walked over to the closet. Opening it, he went past the clothes, and felt around until he came to a knob in the wall. Pulling it opened a door to a little storage chamber. In there were several AK-47s. He pulled out one for himself, and two extra clips of ammo. Mikhail called to his secretary.

"What is it, Comrade Ambassador?" the secretary came rushing in.

"How many people do we have here?" Mikhail asked, donning a bulletproof vest as he talked.

"What do you mean?"

"How many soldiers, how many civilians?" He grabbed a helmet and a bandolier.

"We have about 500 soldiers on site, and about twice as many civilian workers on site."

"Good. Go to the basement; find the door marked в-два (B2). Then, push it open. Inside, you will find food, weapons, and ammunition. Take some, and assemble the workers and soldiers in the front lawn. Understand?" Mikhail strapped the helmet to his head.

"Yes, Comrade Ambassador!"

"Assembled workers of the Soviet Union!" Mikhail shouted from the makeshift stand in front of the embassy. "This week, the Europeans went to war with the GLA. Who can say when it will be Mother Russia's turn to face this heat? So, today we make our final defenses. We will hold this embassy at all costs, including our lives! Soldiers, each of you will lead a group of armed civilians. Workers, come with me and be prepared to receive your weapons! For Mother Russia!"

A roar rose from the crowd. "For Mother Russia!" They all shouted more or less simultaneously. Later in the his office, Mikhail was discussing with several of the military commanders about the best way to defend the embassy.

"Mikhail Ivanov, you have got it all wrong. The machine guns should be here, here, and here," Captain Peterov said, pointing to spots on a map of the embassy complex. "That way, they would be able to cover the entire perimeter."

"No! If we have them at the spots I positioned them, then we will be able to get the ammunition from the basement up to them quicker."

"Why don't we just place the ammunition next to my machine gun positions?" the captain asked.

"No time. Our scouts say that the Allied army is headed this way. They brought out the entire Berlin garrison against us. We only have an hour." Mikhail looked back at the map. The complex was big, there was no doubt about that, but did he have enough people to keep up a stand in case it got that bad? After all, no war had been declared against the Soviet Union… but if someone on the Soviet side did something stupid…

The phone in the hall rang. His secretary picked it up. "Sir, its Moscow, and they're not happy," the secretary said, handing Mikhail the phone.

"What is it, sir?" Mikhail asked, unsure of whether he could stomach another call like the last one.

"The war has been declared. You get out in fifteen minutes, or you don't get out at all," the Premier said. By the tone of his voice, he was not pleased. "Someone shot someone else in the Ukraine. You need to get out now. We are at war with both the GLA and the Allies."

"I'm afraid we can't do that Comrade Premier. We can't get all of these people out of here by air, and the Berlin garrison has already sealed off the land routes. For better or worse, we're are here until we can get either a big air division in or blast our way out by land. We are prepared with about a day's supply of food for everyone here," Mikhail said, partially regretting his decision to stay. He hung up the phone. He turned to Captain Peterov. "Is just about everyone in defensive positions?"

"Yes, Comrade Ambassador," he replied. "Most of them are in their positions and awaiting your orders."

"Good. Get to the secondary command post, and be prepared to run to the helicopter pad when I tell you."

"Yes, Comrade Ambassador." He ran down the hall.

Thirty minutes passed. It seemed like days, watching the ominous glow of an entire contingent of Allied soldiers marching closer and closer. Everyone in the complex was waiting until the enemies came into their sights. Mikhail had stationed Captain Peterov with one hundred of his best troops in at the front gate. He hoped that would be enough to hold them off for a little while. He was currently waiting in his office, near the center of the complex. Clutching his AK-47 tightly, he waited for the gunshots that would start this battle.

He heard the crash of metal on metal as the Europeans broke down the gate. Then, Captain Peterov's men opened up. There were a lot of gunshots; too many to tell which side had the clear advantage. Mikhail did some quick calculations in his head. If the area they broke into was about twenty meters wide, then the Allies could squeeze in almost eighty troops in at a time. Of course, shoving together like that would give Peterov's elite troops a clear advantage in their killing ability.

Mikhail walked to the window. Looking down, he saw that about half of Peterov's men were dead, but there was a pile of Allied soldiers lying unmoving at the embassy entrance. He went back to the desk where he had been before. Outside, the battle raged once more. The roar of the guns on both sides filled the air again. This time, however, the chatter of Ak-47s was drowned out by the Allied carbines. The frightened shouts of Soviet conscripts running also could be heard. Mikhail went back to the window to inspect the situation.

The workers of the embassy were now firing from hidden places. The Allies, while having less but better trained people, were completely surrounded. Or so it would seem. Determined to do his part, he unslung his AK-47, and opened up blindly on a group of Allied troops standing below him.

He kept firing until his bullets ran out, and the barrel started smoking. The Allied troops haphazardly fired back. Moving away from the window, he reloaded, and fired again. Mikhail realized this was going to be a very long day.

Mikhail ran through the cold, grey hallway. If he could reach the Chinook in time, he would be free to get out of the embassy and Europe alive. It wasn't exactly a miracle that he had survived, but it was close enough. In the twelve hours that the Allies had first sent in the Berlin garrison, Mikhail lost nearly all of his people, including most of the soldiers. However, that paled in comparison to the losses that the Allies took. Not only was the Berlin garrison completely wiped out, but they had brought in three other corps-which had neatly been destroyed-before they had broken the Soviets' will to fight.

Now, though, they had Mikhail running for his life out of the facility. He was probably the last non-pilot survivor of the whole thing. If he could get to the Chinook, it would all be worth it. In fact, it was. The Allies were now dealing with this problem instead of the real one at the boarder. He didn't know how the actual war was going, but he hoped it was going well.

He exited the hallway. Now, he could see the helipad up ahead. It was lit up with bright lights, which surprisingly did not attract any attention. Mikhail checked his watch. He only had ten minutes to get on the helicopter, and only fifteen to get out of the way of the airstrike he had called in.

Shouts in German brought him back to reality. Up ahead, two soldiers stood near the entrance of the helipad. Mikhail ducked behind a crate. The two soldiers spoke more rapid German, and on of them laughed. Deciding that they wouldn't be too much of a threat, he nudged his AK-47 over the top of the crate. Taking carful aim, he pulled the trigger. The first German went down, and the second jumped back, but it was too late. Mikhail had already taken aim and fired. He went down as well.

Hearing shouts from the darkness, he ran towards the helicopter. More shouts were followed by gunshots. As he climbed aboard, they clanked off the sides. He shut the door behind him and checked his watch. Thirty seconds remained, and five minutes later an airstrike would come.

"Take off, take off!" he urged the pilots. They nodded and started up the rotors. More gunshots were heard on the outside. The pilots were quick, though, and managed to get in the air before any real damage was done. Manuvering into the night sky, Mikhail relaxed in a window seat of the transport. Below, Soviet attack copters shelled the embassy into oblivion. Mikhail, exausted from the things he had done, slumped into his seat, and began to drift to sleep…


	6. One week later: Xavier's Story Part 2

Hmm

Hmm? Walking through this unknown area was quite interesting. New things to

explore and new things to see. New smells and new sounds. It all seems so over

whelming. I walk on amazed how quickly I learned to use two feet instead of

four paws. It was very easy and I can see why humans of all types use this

method of movement. Hmm? What's that? A very tall white poll like thing.

Looked like a tree with a pointed top. There's trees around here? Hmm. A

tree. Seems like a nice place to relax. I was about to sit down when I hear

screams coming from humans from all around. I look around and see humans with

green crystal like objects on their skin. Odd? Humans come on many colors and

forms but I've never seen a human who is green. Their cries of pain seemed

very upsetting as they ran into the white building.

I went to see what it was that seemed to have upset them but then again those

humans who took me will probably show. I decided to just leave it and move on.

As I continue to the walk to where ever it is I was heading too I kept

receiving stares and odd looks. I shrug and figure let them stare at me. I

have nothing to hide or anything special to say.

"Um is that a hedgehog and is he wearing boots?" A male human said. He

looked down at me and smiled. I crocked me head and walked on till a group of

other humans gathered around me trying touch me and pull at my newly quills. I

did what came by instinct. I ran. I ran at high speeds to try and avoid the

humans.

"Why? Why was I changed into this? What could be accomplished with this?"

I said looking at my 'gloved' hands as if waiting for them to answer my

question. I kept running. I saw many objects around me. High hills with lights

that look like the sun was inside of them and showing brightly out of them.

I look around and a strange beast swerved around me making a horrible noise

on the black dirt of this forsaken human domain. Not much else to do but

continue to run.

"Can there be others like me? And if there are then where will I find them?

But before this? Where was I before this?" I ask myself trying to think

about me when I was normal.

"Let me see. I was in my burrow when those humans took me. They took me

and….and then what?" I was confused. Those humans did something to me. Or

was it something else? Did something else cause me to change like this?

As I continue my run I seem to notice that the humans around me seem to be

dissipating as I run farther and farther on. I didn't get far till I bumped

into…


	7. One week later: Away we go

A/N: Warning: Some Italian ahead. Get those online translators ready.

The blue, bipedal hedgehog ran through the cobblestone streets of the dark, silent Tuscany village. He had been running for days now, away from the humans that had wanted to capture him and put him away. They had chased him for a long time, but no w he thought that they were finally gone.

The hedgehog looked down. His feet were covered in calluses from running so far so fast. He decided he needed to do something about it. Then he remembered something. Humans wore something called _shoes_ to protect their feet. He ran through the village, looking for some to take. He stopped in front of a store. A plumbing service, actually. In the doorway, there was a pair of shoes. Their base was red, with a white strip down the middle. The hedgehog decided that they would do the trick.

He heard footsteps approaching. The hedgehog ducked into an alleyway. Two humans approached. One wore a green hat and shirt and the other wore a red hat and shirt. They both wore overalls. When they reached the door, the one with the red hat picked up the shoes. "Look, Luigi, they delivered right on time! Who says that the mail doesn't work?" he said, pleased.

"Mario, why did you order these shoes?" the one with the green hat, Luigi, said.

"When we are jumping on Goombas and Bowser, don't you think it does wear and tear to or shoes?" Mario, the man with the red, said.

"Quiet, Mario, we don't want anyone to know about that, unless you want to tell the whole village!" Luigi said, afraid for some reason. "But what do they do?"

"These are super resistant to friction, highly cleanable, and they look nice, too."

The hedgehog thought for a moment. He had learned that friction meant the rubbing together of two surfaces to make them hot. Well, he could definitely use them to keep his feet from getting hot.

Mario started inside with the shoes. The hedgehog had to make his move now if he was going to get the shoes. He backed up a bit to give himself space to run, and charged forward, his hand outstretched. He snatched the shoes from Mario, and ran into the distance. In doing so, he plowed over Luigi.

Luigi jumped up. "That's it! Mario, we are moving to Brooklyn like I said we should!"

Up on a hill, away from the village and the angry plumbers, the hedgehog was having trouble putting the shoes on. He hadn't learned how to tie knots, so he ended up just shoving the laces inside the shoes. He stood up again, looking back towards the village. He wondered what he should do next. The only thing he really needed was food, and he could get plenty of that from the human's trash.

He didn't have to do anything or owe anyone anything.

His life was about as good as it could get.

Overhead, he heard a buzzing noise. The hedgehog looked up. Above him, there was an airplane, hovering in the sky. Before he could react, a net dropped from the bottom of it, scooping him up into its bowls.

Inside, a cage was waiting for him. Confused, he pounded on the bars. A bald, fat man dressed in a red suit walked in upon hearing him making the racket.

The man shouted in a human language he only vaguely recognized. For the past week, the only snippets of conversation that he heard were in Italian. When the hedgehog showed confusion on his face, the man seemed to understand. He pointed to himself. "Doctor Ivo Robotnik," he said, slowly, so the hedgehog could understand.

"Doctor… Iv, Ivo… Ro… Robotnik." The hedgehog finished. What Dr. Robotnik was doing was an old traders' trick. If two people met and neither knew each other's language, they would point to objects or gesture an action, and then say the word for it.

Dr. Robotnik pointed to the bars. "Cage," he said. The hedgehog repeated the word. He pointed to the chair in the corner of the cargo bay. "Chair," he said.

Dr. Robotnik climbed back into the pilot's chair in the front of his specially modified VTOL MiG 27. The hedgehog was smarter than some of the other animals he had caught, catching up with language a lot quicker. But why should he care for this lab animal? It was just another of the mutant creatures appearing anywhere there was Tiberium present. But there was something about the hedgehog… something about it… like he had destiny on his side.

He shook the thought out of his head. He was a man of science, not of superstition. You wouldn't find him chasing after any weird prophecies or hunting magical stones.

After what had to an hour, the hedgehog started getting bored. Really bored. Really, _really_, bored. He hadn't stopped running this long since… he couldn't remember when. Why did Dr. Robotnik want him, anyway? _Why_ _is he keeping me in this cage?_ he wondered. _Does he think I'll run away?_

Dr. Robotnik swallowed hard. Moments earlier, European radar pinged his position, and now they were trying to contact him. The risks were too great to try and just fly away. He checked the map. Right now, he was over the Mediterranean in between Albania and Italy. It would be another hour before he cleared the Balkans. If he could reach Greece, then he wouldn't have to deal with the Europeans anymore. However, he would have a new set of problems on his hands. The GLA.

They wouldn't bother to contact him.

Trying to go south through Africa would still put him in the GLA's metaphorical hands, and probably crash him somewhere in Libya or Egypt. If his old Soviet clearances still checked out, he could try going through the Ukraine and over the Urals, but he doubted it. Even if he got through there, he wanted to get to Australia as fast as possible. He didn't need to dither with the Chinese or their American allies.

The radio crackled to life once more. "_Aereo non identificato, fermare subito o lei sarà sparato giù!_" the voice in the radar tower commanded. Robotnik was still a little rusty on his Italian, but he tried to speak back anyway.

"Ah, let's see… _Aereo civile_… um… _Non sparare_," he finished, hoping that would be enough to shake off the radar controller for a while.

Evidently not. The flak started exploding around him after about thirty seconds.

A/N: This is only half the chapter I intend to write. Be sure to aim your web browsers here for more in a little while. Oh, and the only reason I didn't write Mario and Luigi's speech in Italian was because it was too important to leave to the online translators.


End file.
